No Excuses! - The Power of Self-Discipline Part 17

Chapter 14.

Self-Discipline and Problem Solving.

"Experience is not what happens to a man; it is what a man does with what happens to him."

-ALDOUS HUXLEY.

Thoughts are causes and conditions are effects. Therefore, the quality of your thinking largely determines the quality of your life. The greatest mental principle is that "you become what you think about most of the time."

Top people in every field are intensively solution-oriented . They think about solutions most of the time. Instead of getting bogged down in who did or didn't do something or other, the most successful people in every field concentrate on the solutions and what can be done to solve the problem.

The Sufi philosopher Izrhat Khan once said, "Life is a continuous succession of problems, like waves from the ocean. They never stop." This means that your ability to practice self-discipline, self-mastery, and self-control when faced with the never-ending flow of problems, difficulties, setbacks, and temporary failures you will experience is essential to your success in business and in life.

The Inevitable and Unavoidable Crisis.

Throughout your life, you will face a river of problems-physical, financial, family, business, and political. The only break in this never-ending chain of problems will be the occasional crisis. If you are living a normal life, you will probably experience a crisis every two or three months. And it is in these crises that you truly demonstrate the quality of your personality and the strength of your character.

It is only when you face unexpected reversals and setbacks that you show the world what you are truly made of. All of life is a "test." The only question for you is do you pa.s.s or fail?

By their very nature, crises come "unbidden." You have no warning or ability to antic.i.p.ate them in advance. If you did, it wouldn't be a crisis in the first place-obviously, or you would already be prepared. When the inevitable crisis occurs, more than at any other time, self-discipline is required so you can remain calm and clear-headed in order to deal with the crisis effectively.

Perform at Your Best.

When something goes wrong, the natural tendency of most people is to become angry and look around for someone to blame. But this is a waste of energy. It solves nothing. Instead, you must discipline yourself to remain calm, objective, and unemotional.

When you face an unexpected problem or crisis, discipline yourself to stay calm, to focus on the solution rather than the problem. Think in terms of what can be done now, rather than thinking about how it occurred and who is to blame.

Like an accident where someone is hurt, you focus on caring for the injured person, stopping the bleeding, and minimizing the damage before you start a.n.a.lyzing what and how it happened. Practice self-discipline when dealing with a problem or crisis by immediately saying, "I am responsible," even if, at that moment, you are responsible only for controlling your responses.

Keep Your Mind Clear.

Top people have developed the ability to respond effectively to a crisis, to remain calm, relaxed, and clear-eyed. They discipline themselves to stay cool and unemotional. This enables them to think more clearly, to a.n.a.lyze the situation objectively, and to make better decisions.

But the moment you become angry and upset, your neocortex-or your "thinking brain"-shuts down. All you have left then is your paleocortex, your emotional brain, which thinks in terms of "fight or flight." When your emotional brain is in charge, you think in terms of black and white, yes or no, or doing something or doing nothing. You lose the ability to think in shades of gray and to look at all the different possible ways to deal with this particular situation.

Top people realize that every problem is an opportunity to grow in self-control and personal confidence. In fact, you will rise in life to the height of the problems that you are capable of solving.

Stepping Stones to Success.

Some years ago, Dr. Lawrence Peter wrote a book called The Peter Principle. It was an amusing book with a central thesis that cut too close to home. He wrote that in every organization, people continue to be promoted until they reach a level where they are no longer competent to solve the problems at that level. This is where they stop and stay for the rest of their careers.

Furthermore, he pointed out that for this reason, every organization is eventually staffed by people who have reached their level of incompetence. This is especially true in government, and it is the primary reason why government is so time- and cost-inefficient, making it difficult to get anything done at all. This is usually true in any large bureaucracy.

In your own personal life, you continue to rise in your company and your profession in direct proportion to your ability to solve the problems and make the necessary decisions at each level of your career. The good news is that when you think about solutions most of the time, you train your brain to be intensively solution oriented.

No matter what problems or difficulties arise around you, your brain will be continually seeking creative ways to solve the problem. As a result, you actually become smarter and quicker, with more of your thinking brain available to you faster.

If you want to learn a physical sport, you begin by learning the basic moves and then the more advanced moves. You practice these skills over and over again until you can perform them and go through the motions naturally and easily every time.

To master the discipline of problem solving, you need to develop a formula or method that enables you to deal effectively with almost any problem you face in the course of your career or personal life. Fortunately, there is a proven formula for problem solving and decision making that you can use in almost any situation. Let's take a look.

A Nine-Step Method for Solving Problems Effectively.

Step 1: Take the Time to Define the Problem Clearly. In medicine, they say that "accurate diagnosis is half the cure." Therefore, you need to ask, "What exactly is the problem?" It is absolutely amazing how several people can become upset about a problem in an organization, but every one of them has a different idea or definition of the exact nature of the problem they're facing. Your job is to achieve clarity and to get everyone to agree on the definition of the problem before you move on to the business of solving it.

Step 2: Ask, "Is It Really a Problem?" Remember, there are some things that you can do nothing about. They're not problems; they are merely facts of life. If interest rates rise or the subprime mortgage market collapses, this is not a problem. It is not something that is amenable to a solution. Instead, it is something that must be worked around and dealt with.

Also, very often what appears to be a problem or a setback is actually an opportunity in disguise. Sometimes, the problem does not need to be solved at all. Instead, you are now free to do something completely different-which might be even better for you and your organization.

Step 3: Ask, "What Else Is the Problem?" Beware of any problem for which there is only one definition. The more ways you can define a problem, the more likely it is that you will find the best solution.

When we work with corporations in which sales are below a desired level, we force them to ask twenty-one questions, all of which are different ways of restating the problem. Each restatement of the problem, if accepted as the correct definition, leads to a different solution and often to a completely different direction for the organization.

For example, we will ask, "What is the problem?" and the first answer is "Our sales are too low."

The next question is "What else is the problem?"

Answer: "Our compet.i.tor's sales are too high."

Notice the difference. If the problem is that your sales are too low, the solution may be to increase your advertising and promotion and beef up your sales activities. If the definition is that your compet.i.tor's sales are too high, the answer may be to improve your products, change your product line, lower your prices, or go into a completely different business altogether.

By asking and answering a series of questions like this, we eventually find the correct definition, one that is amenable to a workable solution.

Step 4: Ask, "How Did This Problem Occur?" Seek to understand the causes of the problem so you can ensure that it doesn't happen again. In your life or business, if a problem recurs repeatedly, it is a sign that your business is poorly organized or out of control in that area. There is a defect built into your systems that is causing the same problem to recur. Your job is to find out why this happens repeatedly so you can solve the problem at its root.

Step 5: Ask, "What Are All the Possible Solutions?" The more possible solutions you develop, the more likely you will come up with the right one. The quality of the solution seems to be in direct proportion to the quant.i.ty of solutions considered in problem solving. Beware a problem for which there is only one solution.

Step 6: Ask, "What Is the Best Solution at This Time?" Sometimes, any solution is better than no solution. An average solution vigorously executed is often superior to an excellent solution that cannot be implemented because of its complexity or because no one has the ability to execute it.

The rule is that fully 80 percent of all problems should be dealt with immediately. Only 20 percent of problems need to be put off to a later time. If you must put off a problem, set a specific deadline for making a decision on that problem, and then make your decision at that deadline with whatever information you have at that time.

There is a rule that says that every large problem was once a small problem that could have been solved easily and inexpensively at that time. Sometimes, the best strategy is to "nip it in the bud." When it is clear that there is a problem and a solution, do what has to be done-and do it quickly.

Step 7: Make a Decision. Select a solution, any solution, and then decide on a course of action. Always ask, "What is our next action? What are we going to do now?"

Step 8: a.s.sign Responsibility. Who exactly is going to carry out the solution or the different elements of the solution? It is quite common for a group to meet to solve a problem and to agree on a solution, but when the group meets again two weeks later, it turns out that nothing has happened. Why? No one was made specifically responsible for carrying out the decision.

Step 9: Set a Measure for the Decision. What are you trying to accomplish with this decision, and how will you measure results? How will you know that it worked? The more accurately you can determine the result that you want to achieve by the solution, the more likely it is that you will achieve it.

The Big Reward.

The main reward you get for solving problems is the opportunity to solve bigger and more important problems. Your rate of pay and speed of promotion and therefore your forward movement in your career are largely determined by your problem-solving ability. The more you focus on solutions, the more solutions you will come up with, and the more valuable your contribution will be to your organization.

The flip side of self-esteem is called "self-efficacy." Your level of self-efficacy is defined as "how competent you feel you are to solve your problems and achieve your goals."

The more competent you feel you are to solve the problems and difficulties of daily life, the more you like yourself. The more you like yourself, the more confident and competent you become in solving even larger problems and getting even more important results.

The Determinant of Your Success.

In your work, your problem-solving ability largely determines everything you accomplish. People who are good at solving problems are some of the most valuable and respected people in every area. For this reason, success has been defined as "the ability to solve problems." This also means that happiness is the ability to solve problems. Leaders.h.i.+p is the ability to solve problems.

When you practice self-discipline and self-control in face of the inevitable and unavoidable problems and crises of day-to-day life, you become more competent and effective in everything you do. You will be respected and esteemed by everyone around you. You will experience a tremendous feeling of personal power and competence. In no time at all, you will become one of the most valuable people in your organization.

Action Exercises:.

1. Solving problems is like solving mathematical equations: It is learnable with practice and repet.i.tion. Start by determining the biggest problems facing you today.

2. Accept complete responsibility for solving the problems you encounter in your daily work, and then think about the solutions.

3. Define your biggest business or personal problem clearly. Write it down. What exactly is the problem?

4. Why is this a problem? Could it be an opportunity in disguise? If so, what opportunity or lesson could this problem contain?

5. What else is the problem? Perhaps the real problem is something else, something you might not want to face?

6. What are all the possible solutions? What else could be a solution?

7. Select the best solution that is available to you right now, and take action immediately.

PART III.

Self-Discipline and the Good Life.

Your ultimate goal in life is to achieve your own happiness. No one else can do this for you. This personal desire is the motivation behind almost every behavior. Moreover, happiness is more emotional and spiritual than it is a matter of acquiring material things. In this part, you will learn how the practice of discipline in the most important areas of your life can bring you more joy and satisfaction than perhaps any other quality.

Chapter 15.

Self-Discipline and Happiness.

"No horse gets anywhere until he is harnessed. No stream or gas drives anything until it is confined. No Niagara is ever turned into light and power until it is tunneled. No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated, disciplined."

-HARRY EMERSON FOSd.i.c.k.

Your ability to achieve your own happiness is the true measure of your success in life. Nothing is more important. Nothing can replace it. If you accomplish everything of a material nature, but you are not happy, you have actually failed at fulfilling your potential as a human being.

In Chapter 4, I described how human beings are purposeful, striving toward achieving goals and end results. However, behind each goal lies another goal, and then still another goal, until you finally arrive at the "primum movum," or first-moving force, in human life. This always turns out to be the desire to be happy. You can only truly be happy when you practice self-discipline, self-mastery, and self-control. It is only when you feel that you are in complete control of your life that you are truly content.